Bengali cuisine has evolved since its birth. There were many invasions from foreigners like the Muslims, the British. Different styles and recipes got incorporated into the Bengali culinary chart. But, there are still some that have not evolved much and Chanchra (or Chancharika, that’s what the other name for this dish is as mentioned in “Bangalir Khawadawa” by Shankar) being listed at the top of this list. I can tell this because I have seen my grand mother cook the same way my mom or even I cook the dish. My granny used to say that she learnt this recipe from her mother, so you see there has been almost four generations where chanchra has remained what it was, and I don’t think it’s going to change any soon.

So, what is chanchra? When I thought of writing about this recipe, I was thinking how to spell it in English. Anyways I decided on this spelling. Chanchra (or may be Chenchra). This authentic Bengali recipe can be very lucidly described as a curry made of one or different types of herbs put together along with vegetables (mainly potatoes and pumpkin) and fish head. I am not sure how this curry came into existence, but it was most probably due to the habit of Bengalis not to leave out any part of anything that is edible. Mostly people don’t prefer to have a full fish head during meal, so the fish head is fried and broken into smaller pieces and mixed with other vegetables to prepare succulent and yummy preparation to serve mainly during lunch time. This typical Bengali recipe is an all time favorite among Bengalis and those individuals who like having Bengali food.

Chanchra is an inevitable side dish for any feast. If you visit a marriage ceremony at lunch (Bengali marriages are held at evening, the day time is only for people close to the family), you just can’t get away without tasting this recipe. Chanchra with warm rice is a delicacy. It is prepared mainly with climbing spinach or pui saag in Bengali, along with potatoes, aubergine and pumpkin to increase the volume of the prepared item. There is a vegetarian version of this which though not widely cooked but exists. Different types of lentils are used along with the vegetables and herb (the detailed recipe will post later). The use of the climbing spinach (also called Malabar spinach or Malabar nightshade) and the fish head gives the distinct smell and taste of this particular dish. Though this dish is a little tricky to prepare, and doesn’t look much appealing too, but the taste of it is what counts.

Other names of this herb is Pui shakh or Puin shaak in Bengali, Poi saag in Hindi, Pasalai keerai in Tamil, Bachhala kura in Telugu, Balasale soppu in Kannada.

Preparation time: 20mins

Cooking time: 30mins

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

Malabar spinach (Pui shakh): 2 feet long stem with leaves

Pumpkin (Kumro): 100gms, cut into medium size dices

Potato (Alu): 2, cut into medium size dices

Fish head (Macher Matha): 1

Panch Phoron: 1 teaspoon

Onion (Peyaj): 1 medium size, cut thinly

Garlic paste (Rasun bata): 1 teaspoon

Chili powder (Sukhno Lankar guro): 1 teaspoon

Turmeric powder (Halud guro): ½ teaspoon

Cumin seeds (Jeera): 1 teaspoon

Mustard Oil (Sarser tel): 6 tablespoon

Salt to taste

Preparation:

Chop off the leaves from the Malabar spinach stem, chop the leaves into halves, and cut the stems into 2 inch long sizes and slit longitudinally

Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a wok and fry the fish head, smash it into pieces, keep aside

Heat the rest of the oil and pour in the panch phoron and onions, sauté till the onions become light brown.

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31 thoughts on “Chanchra”

I do not know whether it’s just me or if perhaps everyone
else encountering issues with your blog. It appears as though some of the
written text in your posts are running off the screen. Can someone else please comment and let me know if this
is happening to them too? This may be a issue with my web browser because
I’ve had this happen previously. Cheers

I tried your recipe. I replaced it with palak due to unavailability of pui saak. But I must say it turned out finger licking delicious. Thank you so so much for the recipe. I’ve been hunting for a good chhyanchra recipe for a long time. It has come to an end with your recipe.

Great blog. Couple of points with your permission. Pui saag [Basella] is [was!] a seasonal green in Bangabhumi, say late spring to end of rains. Actually, the parvan called ARANDHAN, i.e. “the absence of cooking” held latish August usually signalled the end of Pui eating, just as another event in January meant that radish season was over!

There are 2 poles, Warm season: pui saag, and Cool season: radishes +/- sweet potatoes. Potatoes, pumpkin & eggplant remain constant. Some vegetables may make seasonal appearances, e.g. cabbage midribs in winter, a stray parwal or two in the warmer months, to add to the “hard” vegetable component.

The cool season mixed veg. West Bengal calls “gha^nt” and East Bengal Hindus at least, “Labraa”. There is another “white sabzi”, but maybe that is for another time.

Calabaza pumpkin in the US is closest to the Indian type, (or peel-on acorn squash cubes is good too, mixed with peeled Hubbard chunks, Yukon Gold potatoes, and maybe the purple-skinned sweet potato sold in Asian markets make a good combination. Of course, the Ur-Bangali tuber was the taro, staple of the land long before rice was domesticated.

Rarh cooking favors the very sweet [cane jaggery here for the right note], and often is missing the alliums. The pui saag, besides the fried head, may also include the fried maw [swim bladders] and the fresh fatty livers of large carp called the “tel”. The same set of parts from Hilsa may also be used, but separately, one species or the other. Or, just shrimp “heads” from tiger prawns is a third alternative, but for home-cooked meals, not the grand party affair.

In the styles where onion & garlic are not used, there is usually a dry-roasted powder applied at the finish. In Bengal, Oriya festival cooks [often attached to extended families for generations] would gain renown for their “secret” spice “bhaja masalas”!!

[For mere mortals like us, roasted Panch Phoron will have to do. Please do not put mustard seed in your mix. If you cannot find Randhuni or ajmud seed, just go with Nigella, cumin, fennel & fenugreek in descending order. Bengalis also use this roasted powder to perk up their “chutneys” which comprise a sweet course at meal’s end, taken with plain papad].

Be that as it may, close observation would have revealed that these worthies fried every chunky component vegetable, including eggplant, in a king’s ransom of oil, and braised everything in the oil +natural caramelized vegetable juices. God forbid that any water should ever come near their blazing brick choolas!! You try this too, and like Chinese take-out, see what a magic difference it makes!!

The very name LABRA or GHA^NT implies vegetables melted beyond decency and stirred to a fare-thee-well. Chenchra has some of the same consistency & oleaginous character if cooked by a thakur: horrible to visually & psychologically contemplate, but ambrosial!

Beetha,
The essence of this preparation comes from the fried fish heads. If you don’t want to use it then just omit it then. I have not used fried fish pieces, but I don’t think that would be a good choice.

Hey Thankss….. a ton.
My boudi gave me some pui data from her garden and I was wondering about the macher matha that I had bought today.
Thanks to google it brought me here and I know it will be just fantastic.
God bless you.

Accha, eibar ektu doodh agey thekey tule rekhey chen boiling milk thekey, dui bhagey bibhokto korey, 1) for dissolving caramel for flavoring Lal Doi 2) for dissolving active yoghurt culture from HIGH Quality organic yoghurt like Brown Cow, or excellent local organcic yoghur with LIVE cultures. Sometimes excellent excellent local artisanal yoghurts are found with thick matha, smelling of rich ghee. Those are the best. Take about 1 tablespoon of yoghurt, dissolve in about 1/4 cup COOLED milk from the boiling pot.

When the whole mass has reached 115-113F add the yoghur culture solution and the caramel solution and immediately pour into a pre-warmed thermos flask, or yoghurt maker. It is important to keep the temperature at this 112-114F mark. In India, using an unglazed clay pot allows water to escape into the hot, dry atmosphere and further thicken the yoghurt while keeping a balance in the temperature. Plus adds a great flavor and texture. Not possible here. Texture vaaries because different bacterial strains than those common in India and Bangabhumi, in particular. Still, you will get a thick yoghurt if you use the high solids/high fat milk that already has a caramelized taste, e.g. canned evaporated full fat milk, to which half/half and some fresh whole milk has been added.

There is a cheater’s way that used condensed milk, 20% fat Greek yoghurt, and caramel dissolved in a little evaporated milk. Bring Greek yoghurt to room temperature. Dissolve caramel in heated evaporated milk and allow the condensed milk to mix into this scalding mixture. When in the 80-85F range, carefully and GENTLY FOLD into yoghurt without destroying structure, arrange in heat-proof glass casserole, and place in a very gently warm oven,< 200F, until it just sets. You will have adjusted sugar levels, of course, and the yoghurt will soon set. Or you can place it in a large degchi of warm water, around 112-115F, and wait for it to set, gently rewarming the water from time to time with utmost caution.

These are commonly adapted ways of making Lal Doi, just as there are common cheater's ways of making Kancha Golla or Kamala Lebu-r shondesh.

Hi Sudeshna! Thanks for leaving lines in my blog. Haven’t had the time to come here and check out every post recently. Will do that soon. Your blog looks great now. 🙂
I usually make chenchra with palak as I don’t get pui here. 🙁
.-= Sharmila´s last blog ..Heartfelt Thanks …. =-.

My mouth is watering seeing your photo. When my mother used to prepare Chanchra, I used to finish all my rice with it. But my Chhoto Pishi’s Chanchra used to be even more delicious. Whenever I visit her in Kolkata, this is my first request to her. I think the Chanchra tastes divine if “Ilish Machher Matha” is used.

Sangeeta,
You can prepare chanchra with data saag or Amaranthus (Amaranth) in English. I am not exactly sure but its probably called chauli in Hindi. I hope you find it at the market. All the best. 🙂
Please let me know if you need to know anything more